Road Map Norway

Intro

Population: 5,236,000

GDP per capita: $59,500

Norway’s domestic music market has gained international attention over the last years, as it has made the successful transition to a nearly total digital marketplace. In 2012, revenues from downloads and streaming services surpassed for the first time in history physical revenues. This trend has continued and in 2015 digital sales accounted for 84% of the sales in recorded music.

Total turnover on the Norwegian recorded music market in 2015 amounted to NOK 838m.

Media

TVTV broadcasting is dominated by public broadcaster NRK – the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation which has a market share of 37,7 per cent (2014) with its three channels (NRK1, NRK2 and NRK3/NRKSuper). Trailing behind is commercial broadcaster TV2 with a market share of 28,7% with its five channels. TV Norge is third on the list with its 8,1% share of the market.

RadioNRK is also dominant on the radio waves. On average, the public broadcaster had a listener base of 66per cent of the total population in 2014. Coming in on second is the commercial station P4 which has a 19 per cent stake in the market while Radio Norge is third with its 11%.

Live

FestivalsIt has been said that every little Norwegian town and village has its own festival. From May to September more than 200 festivals are staged throughout the country. Below is a selection of each genre’s main events:

Concert HallsIn addition to the established conventional concert halls in the country’s main cities, Norway has app. 115 publicly funded cultural houses in cities and municipalities throughout the country.

Cultural Houses:An overview of Norway’s Cultural Houses, sorted county-wise can be found here.

Record Industry

According to the 2014 IFPI Norway Annual Report, international repertoire accounted for a 79 per cent stake of the market. Sales of physical units made up for no more than 17 per cent of overall turnover in 2015, with digital downloads generating 6 per cent and streaming services 78 per cent of total revenue.

Revenue from sales of physical units in 2015 ended at a value of 139 mNOK while digital downloads and streaming services generated 698 mNOK.

Indie
The Norwegian independent record label sector is represented by Fono – the Norwegian Independent Record Producers Association.

Music Industry Networking ArenasOslo’s by:Larm is widely regarded as one of the Nordic music scene’s premier networking arenas and showcasing festivals. The event is staged annually mid-February in Oslo and features a wealth of showcases with Nordic bands and performers, seminars, meeting arenas and creative networking sessions.

Øya International is the Oslo festival’s programme for its foreign delegates and offers a tailored package for the participants with exclusive concerts, networking sessions and social events.

Folkelarm is the Norwegian folk/trad/world music scene’s premier meeting point and showcasing festival. Held at Oslo’s Riksscenen – the Norwegian Hub for Traditional Music and Dance, the showcase festival also features seminars and networking arenas for domestic as well as international folk music execs.

The Norwegian contemporary music scene’s main festival is without doubt the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival. The festival also features a tailored programme for its invited foreign delegates.

Publishing

Norway’s publishing sector is relatively small but still highly active. Annual turnover for the sector is estimated to app. 100mNOK. The publishing sector is represented by its interest organisation Musikkforleggerne – the Norwegian Music Publishers’ Association.

Songwriting/song camps:• Trondheim Calling SONG:EXPO: The co-writing camp is held annually in late January and attracts international song writers, A&Rs and publishers which are teamed up with domestic writers to create a vibrant meeting point in which leads are provided and songs pitched for markets in the US, Germany, UK and Asia.

• Waterfall Songwriting Camps: The Oslo-based music publishing company runs a string of songwriting camps for their in-house talent domestically as well as abroad.

• Song Farm was founded in 2010 by Hilde Wahl and Jørn Dalchow who for many years has been part of the Norwegian music industry. The aim of Song Farm is to establish events and venues where Norwegian and international songwriters can meet, write new songs, build networks and get new knowledge.

• by:Songs takes place in Sandvika and Asker outside Oslo the days before by:Larm conference and music festival.

Gramo is the joint collection society in Norway for musicians, performing artists and phonogram producers. Gramo manages and administers the right of performers and producers to receive remuneration when recorded music is being played on the airways or in other public arenas.